Monday, September 22, 2014

Man Crush Monday: Featuring Tiffany Truitt

I would like to start off by thanking Kate for hosting me today! I am so
excited she agreed to be a part of the YA Reader Week Blog Hop J

Now, let’s get to the Man Crush Monday.

In my YA Contemporary novel, The
Language of Silence, I strived to portray a realistic story of young love.
While it’s been a little over a decade since my teenage years, I still remember
it being tempestuous, wild, and not always pretty.

There are basic elements of
the iconic love story that I have attempted to pay homage to within the pages
of my story, but, because I’m me, I tried to give the age old boy meets girl,
boy looses girl, boy gets girl back trope a modern kick in the ass. And I
thought there would be no better way to introduce my novel’s leading male, Ed,
than by showing these staples of the love story genre through his eyes.

The Meet Cute: Typically, the meeting of the two lovers is
done in some highly convenient but seemingly random aligning of the stars way.
But in The Language of Silence, my
couple already knows each other. Using the famous, “I have a crush on my best
friend’s sister,” element, I added my own twist. Brett and Ed, while always
attracted to each other in an almost ungovernable way, are brought together
when Brett’s brother, Tristan, dies under mysterious circumstances. With
Tristan no longer there to keep them apart combined with the magnetic pull of
their own grief, they are doomed to collide.

Excerpt (Or in Ed’s Words…)

I can’t help it. I have to see her. It’s not something
I can control. My meltdown in the car has left me exposed, and I’m pretty sure
that even though it will kill me in the end, seeing her is the only thing that
will make the pain go away. Temporarily. She sits across from me as the
preacher goes on and on and on about eternal salvation or maybe damnation. Who
knows? It all sounds the same to me.

Brett. She’s the only safe place for me right now.I’m not good for her, and if I ever destroyed
her, which I would if I ever really sought her out, I’d want to join Tristan
six feet under. So, basically, I’m fucked.

The First Kiss: The first time a literary couple kisses is
usually filled with fireworks, shooting stars, and gentle, sweet caresses. Mine
involves trash, a shower, and a bit of cursing.

Excerpt(Or in Ed’s Words…):

“No. You stand up. Take a shower, and then I am taking
you home.” I meant to sound in control, but my voice is choked with emotion. I
don’t know what’s happening to me. Before I know it, I’m in the shower too. I’m
on my knees in front of her. The water is rushing down my back and spraying
onto her.

She looks up at me, and I feel like my blood is rushing
so fast through my veins that I must be dying. We’re both breathing heavily
now. I can see the water rushing in and dribbling out of her mouth.

God, she is beautiful.

I want to kiss her so badly it’s physically painful.

The Happily Ever After: It is no surprise that a good deal
of YA novels spend the majority of the story getting the characters
together…but I’ve always wanted to know what happens after. In my opinion, the
getting together is the easy part; it’s what comes after where the real fun
begins.

Excerpt(Or in Ed’s Words…):

This feeling that musicians and poets write about. I
just never thought a schmuck like me would ever feel it. I feel the enormity of
my mistakes. I see the truth in her words. I gave myself away to all the wrong
people. I didn’t have to give anything away to Brett. With her, it didn’t feel
forced or wrong.

When she comes out of the bathroom, I want to kiss her.
I want to ask her to come with me. Instead, I simply tell her I love her.

She nods. “I know.”

I hope with the use of Ed’s words that you
are intrigued by my little imperfect perfection, Ed, and you’ll pick up a copy
of The Language of Silence today!

Tiffany
Truitt received her MA in literature from Old Dominion University. Her debut Chosen
Ones, first in the Lost Souls trilogy, is a searing look at what it
means to be other and how we define humanity, as well as a celebration of the dangerously wonderful feeling of falling in love.

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About Me

My life is full, overflowing. I'm a painter, a writer, a mother, a procrastinator and a daydreamer. Maybe there isn't time to fit it all into one life, but I'll keep trying. DELIVER ME (Spring 2014, Bloomsbury Spark), PERFECTED (Summer 2014, Entangled),
Represented by Kerry Sparks at Levine Greenberg.